Sensex lacks spark, trips 19 points after a better start

Mumbai: The markets today fell for the second consecutive day despite a promising start and saw all its early gains wiped off as the benchmark BSE Sensex lost over 19 points after players chose to book profits.

Resuming higher, the Sensex touched the session's high of 27,445.24 on the back of sustained capital inflows and encouraging Q2 earnings by Hero MotoCorp.

However, the index failed to hold onto gains towards the middle of the session and slumped to a low of 27,190.55 before ending at 27,287.66, a fall of 19.17 points, or 0.07 percent. The gauge had lost 58.09 points in the previous volatile session.

The 50-share NSE Nifty remained lacklustre too, which dropped 9.95 points, or 0.12 percent, to close the day at 8,251.70. Intra-day, it shuttled between 8,294.40 and 8,217.15.

Out of the 30-share Sensex pack, 13 closed in the red and 17 finished higher.